End Game
by Rustic Capitals
Summary: Ricky and Amy ended their relationship years ago. But they are amazing co-parents and are doing better than anyone could in their situation.
1. Chapter 1

**AMY**

"JOHN! Hurry up, your dad will be here any minute!" I called from the laundry room of our two story town home.

Minutes later the doorbell rang.

"That's him John! LET'S **GO** PLEASE!" I called again, making my way over to the front door. I unlocked the door and unbolted the top lock and sure enough there was Ricky standing on the porch almost soaking from the rain.

"Geez Ricky. It's called an umbrella. People use them, during inclement weather" I said, stepping aside so he could come into the house. He closed the door behind him and ran a hand through his wet hair a few times.

"I thought I'd just run in from the car, I didn't think I'd get this wet. Where's John?"

I turn towards the staircase, calling my missing 9 year old son for what seemed like the 10th time in the last 10 minutes.

"JOHN, DAD'S HERE" I turned back and rolled my eyes at Ricky "Honestly. I've called him like 10 times already, here come in for a sec" We make our way to the kitchen, and he takes a seat on one of the kitchen barstools.

"Did you want a coffee or tea or anything?" I offer.

"Nah I'm good. Clementine should be off work soon and we thought we'd take John out to the movies later"

"How's she liking it?" I asked him setting down the glass of cold water on the counter in front of him, which was also littered with crumbs from John's sandwiches earlier. I picked up a dishtowel to start wiping down the counter. "Her first full week on the job right?"

"Thanks" Ricky said before picking up the glass and taking a sip "Uh well, good I think. I mean I guess there's a lot to learn so it's been a stressful week. That's why we figured it'd be nice to have a night out after she got off"

"If you guys wanted a date night to celebrate the new job, we could have kept John another day this week, you know that"

"No that's alright, we wanted to have a family night – besides we've already celebrated tons alone…this week…if you get what I mean" Ricky said, and looked at me that with that ridiculous playful smirk of his. It's hard to believe that was one of the things that made her fall in love with him all those years ago.

I roll my eyes. Something I tend to do a lot when I'm around Ricky.

"Pig" I said with a playful smile and threw my dish towel at him. He caught it and set it back down on the counter.

"What I can't help it if women tends to you know, get a little uh shall I say this…" Ricky started trying to look thoughtful as he waved a hand in front of him "well lets say we say frisky, when they're overwhelmed. I mean you know - how women get - when you guys are stressed" Ricky said jokingly. I shake my head and retort back with my own quirky comment "Oh I'm sorry, has she been picking nothing fights with you all week?"

Ricky laughed at this, and I could tell I caught him a little of guard with that. "Alright" he said nodding in defeat "You got me there, you guys like to do that too. A lot. Too much actually".

Before I could respond I heard footsteps running down the stairs and seconds later John appears in the doorway carrying his school back pack, along with a duffel bag with things he usually had to bring back and fort between the two houses he lived in each week.

"Ah finally, there he is" Ricky said turning from his seat at the barstool to face him.

"Great of you to finally grace us with your presence" I say.

"Hey dad" John said walking over to the fridge to grab a few juice boxes. "I couldn't find my history folder, I have a project I need to work on this week". John opened up his backpack and dumped a few more things inside along with the juice boxes.

"Hey so I might not be able to come to swimming tomorrow, so Matt and I will see you at your baseball game Sunday alright?" I told him.

"Alright, but can you tell Dad we have to like leave early? I always get in trouble for being late for swimming whenever he takes me"

"What? Lies!" Ricky said, pretending to be shocked "It's not nice to tell fibs about your old man John".

Ricky got off the stool and playfully hooked John's head under his arm in a headlock and messing the brown hair that was almost identical to Ricky's own brown mop.

"Aw man, dad come on" John said from under his dad's arm as he made an attempt to pull himself out of the head lock.

Ricky let go and John jumped up onto Ricky's back hanging off his neck, and reached up to mess up his Dad's head. Ricky reached back and grabbed one of John's leg towards his body as he walked towards the door, supporting the bottom half of him as he carried his son on his back towards the foyer.

I could do nothing but shake my head as I watch this 'rough' exchange and followed the two 'boys' as they made their way towards the front of the house. On the one hand, it's great they get along so well. On the other, she wondered if Ricky was ever just going to grow up. He was still very much a kid which is probably why John and him gets a long so well. He was the fun parent and she was very much…not.

"Alright the pool is like what? 15 minutes drive? We'll make sure we leave an hour before. How's that?"

"Yeah right, would you even be awake an hour before my swimming practice?" John retorted back, jumping off Ricky's back and giving him a few playful punches on the side of his hip.

"Oooohh watch it Rocky, you really got me there" Ricky reaches out to mess up the top of John's head one more time, forcing John to push away the short strands off his eyes.

"Alright, alright" I said putting an end to this father son banter, and putting on my best 'mom voice' "Cut it out you two". I turned towards John to kiss him goodbye, "I love you bud, see you Sunday – and you need a haircut" I say before kissing the top of his head, fixing his hair a little and you – I turned to face the older 'boy', god they really do look a like. Especially when they both give me that 'what'd I do look', I point an almost wagging finger in front of him "Make sure he gets to swimming on time huh"

"Always" Ricky said grinning, a grin also almost identical to Johns, then finally turned to open the door to walk out with John "Alright well take care, we'll see you at the park Sunday yeah?"

"Yep we'll see you guys there"

Just then a black truck pulled into the driveway and Matt got out still wearing his work scrubs.

"Hey guys" he called as he got out.

"Matt" Ricky replied back holding his hand up as a greeting.

"You guys leaving?" Matt asked looking at Ricky when he got to the front of the house. The rain has turned into a light drizzle.

"Yeah, actually we're going to the movies in a little bit"

"You don't want to stay for a beer?" Matt offered.

"Nah, can't. We still have to meet Clementine at home. She's probably there now looking for us" Just as he said that, Ricky's phone buzzed "That's probably her now" he says taking his phone out of his pocket. Sure enough it was a text from Clementine asking where he was. "Yep, alright John we gotta go"

"Alright you guys take care. See ya bud" Matt said to John.

"See ya Matt" John replied.

Matt stood beside me and put an arm around my shoulder as we watch Ricky drive off with John. I can't believe how lucky I am. Ricky and I have an amazing co parenting relationship. Something I would have never imagined 4 years ago when we decided to call it split. On top of that Matt and Ricky got a long really well, making the co-parent thing even easier that it already was. It makes me feel a little guilty at not trying hard enough with Clementine, when she and Ricky finally got together a few years ago. I admit, I may have been a little bitter – at the time I was thinking it just confirmed my suspicions that I wasn't really Ricky's first choice. Still, I should have been a grown up, and been happy for them and try to establish at least some kind of relationship with Clementine, especially once I've known how serious their relationship had gotten. I have tried though, these past few months. But even I knew, she could tell it felt like it was a little force. Finally when the car was out of sight, I felt Matt turn and land a soft kiss on my forehead. "How are you babe?"

"Good, how was work?"

"It was alright. Slow. Long, but glad I'm finally home with you though"

"Well you must be hungry. I have lasagna in the oven. It should be ready soon" I said turning to walk inside the house, his arm still around my shoulder.

"Mmm I love Lasagna. But you know what else I'd really like for dinner?" Matt whispered, then pressing a soft kiss behind my ear as we made their way towards the kitchen"

He could never fail to send shivers up my spine this man.

"Mmm what's that?" I whisper back, turning to face him and pressing a soft kiss on his lips.

"How long till the lasagna's done?" He asked his mouth still pressed against mine.

"10 minutes"

"I could work with that" Matt said, before I felt him grab me from under my bum and left me up against him forcing me to wrap my legs around his waist.

"Babe, I don't want the food to burn!" I squealed as he moved to bring both of us up the stair case.

"Don't worry about it, I'll make sure we're done on time"

 **RICKY**

I woke up with the bright, hot sun hitting my face. I was tempted to keep my eyes close and pull the comforter over my head but fought against it and opened my eyes instead. As usual Clementine's side of the bed was empty. I looked at the clock. 9:30. John's baseball game is at 11, still tons of time. Forcing myself out of bed, I grabbed an old faded shirt and put it on, before heading out of the bedroom into the kitchen. Clementine was sitting on the white leather couch, her fingers busily typing away at the computer sitting on her lap.

"There's some coffee in the pot, it should still be hot" She called from the couch not looking up.

I walk over and stopped behind the couch where she was sitting to give her a kiss on the head. "Thanks babe, what you working on already?"

"It's a new case my firm got. I want to get a head start on it so I have something to bring to the table tomorrow" She said, not taking her eyes off the computer screen.

"John still asleep?" I asked, pouring myself a cup of coffee.

"Yep. Like father like son"

"Hey it's Sunday. Sundays were made for sleeping in. I'm pretty sure it even says that in the bible. Thou shall sleep in on Sundays" I yell as I made my way over to the second bedroom of our condo.

I walk into John's bedroom. The blinds were closed shut so it was still dark in there. I couldn't see John but I could see his body formed under the blankets, and I could see parts of his hair sticking up from the top of the blanket. I grabbed one of his pillows that has fallen on the floor, as it did most nights before finding a space on the bed that wasn't occupied by a limb to sit on. He definitely inherited his sleeping style from his mother.

I pulled the comforter off him and John immediately reacted by trying to grab it back up over his body.

"Nope, time to get up buddy. You need to have some breakfast and shower, we have to be at the field in about an hour".

John moaned, but rolled over onto his back and opened his eyes. "What's for breakfast?"

"Pancakes?"

"I can live with pancakes" He said stretching his arms above him and giving out a wide yawn.

I laughed "Yeah? Alright smart guy, good to know. Now get up or no pancakes for you" I said getting up off the bed and headed towards the door. I turned the lights on to make sure he did get up, which was followed by another loud moan.

An hour later we pulled up on the dirt parking lot for John's baseball game. I noticed Matt's black truck parked on the other side, so that meant He and Amy were already around here somewhere.

"Alright bud ready?" I asked glancing at the rear view mirror, just in time to see John already opening his door getting ready to jump out.

I walked around the back of the car with John to grab all of John's equipment while Clementine grabbed the food and blankets.

"Ready?" Clementine asked, holding the blankets and the bag of snacks in front of her as I closed the back of the trunk.

"Yep" I said and gave her quick peck on the cheek. John was in front of us, already running towards his friends who were on the field, practicing throwing the ball around. The other team was doing the same on the opposite size of the baseball park.

We spotted Amy and Matt chatting with a group of other young parents who were already there. We were the youngest parents on the team, which of course isn't a surprise given that we had John at such a young age. However, there were a few couples, like Jillian and Dave who were only in their early 30s who we've developed a pretty strong friendship with.

Amy caught John trying to run past her. She stopped her conversation and called out to him.

"Hey John, give your mom a hug for a sec!"

I see John sigh but run over to Amy to give her a quick hug and then quickly toward the field to join his teammates.

Finally, Clementine and I got to where Amy and Matt were sitting. Clementine and Amy give each other a quick hug of acknowledgement.

"Here man, grab a beer" Dave offers, opening the cooler and grabbing a can to hand to me.

"Thanks" I nod, before opening it up and taking a sip. Clementine had already laid out the blanket and was grabbing some work files out of her work bag.

"What's with the papers?" Dave asked looking at Clementine

She smiles at him "You know how it is with a new job, gotta make an impression, but of course I don't want to miss John's game"

"Yep it's a big one" Dave replies back.

"Oh we're going to get to the state championship" Jillian replies, as she sat down the folding chair that was beside Dave's.

"Well aren't you the confident one. Please don't go crazy mom on me and start telling of the refs in the middle of a little league game. I don't want my wife turning out to be the next viral video"

Jillian shrugs, smiling "Hey, I call it as I see it. Which is something some of these little league refs need to start doing"

Just then something started beeping and Matt fished a pager out of his pocket.

"Shit, sorry babe I gotta go" He said reading some message from a little black device.

"What happened?" Amy asks, her forehead crinkling in curiosity. It's the face she always makes when she's more curious than upset about something.

"Not sure, just some kid coming in with abdominal pain. Sounds like an appendix"

"Well what can you do, you're on call. I'll see you later?" Amy replies, leaning into Matt's kiss while trying to sound nonchalant but there is a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"Thanks babe, I'm sorry to miss John's game. You think you can find a ride home?"

"Yeah man, we'll drop her off" I offer. He looks at me then back at Amy for a second, before responding.

"Great, thanks guys" He says, slapping the side of my arm before running towards the parking lot.

"Amy, come sit beside me. You can take Dave's chair" Jillian calls from where she's sitting, after Dave has left.

"Oh nice of you to offer my own seat" Dave teases.

Amy laughs but takes a seat. You boys would be standing the whole time anyways, Amy says back. This was true. Dave and I usually just ends up standing, drinking our beers through most of the game.

"Clementine, want to join us?" Jillian offers "I have another chair in the van, I can make Dave go get it"

Clementine looks up from the computer, and gives Jillian a big smile. "Oh no, that's alright – I'm good here. I really need to try and get going with this" She says motioning to the growing pile of file folders beside her lap.

"Well don't work too hard. Try and enjoy some of the outdoors while you're out here" Jillian replies back.

Clementine gives her another big smile before pulling out a pair of large sunglasses, the one that covers almost her whole face and then gets right back to what she's been doing. Jillian and Amy continue their conversation about some sort of guacamole dip recipe and Dave changes the topic from the rising cost of home hardware tools which somehow led him into a rant about 'these damn, idiotic politicians'. His words, not mine.

I look back once at Clementine, completely aloof from the group. I love the girl but sometimes I wish she got along with my friends more. I get there was a bit of a clash in personality, but it would be great to see her mingling with the other wives like Jillian and Amy. I just want her to feel like she was part of the group. I was about to say something, maybe encourage her to join us, but the game was about to start and John's team was taking their positions on the field, so I decided to let it go for now.


	2. Chapter 2

**Amy**

I glanced at the time on my phone, for what seemed like the hundredth time this hour. Matt and I are at a black tie event the hospitals put on for all the doctors and practitioners doing their first year residency. It's a pretty big deal for all doctors in their first year, from what I've gathered anyway. Matt referred to as the 'Oscars' for everyone in the medical field. "Do you win awards?" I asked, half jokingly after he made the reference. "Well no" he says, scrunching up his face "but you know what I mean". I walked over to him and gave him a kiss while he straightened his tie in front of the mirror "I know, I'm teasing". But I guess he was too anxious to appreciate my little joke.

It was technically our week with John, but Ricky and Clementine graciously took him for the night. All the 'big guns' of the medical community were here, including the Dean of the local med schools in the city. It's only been an hour into cocktail and already I was regretting my choice of footwear. Not that I had a choice really, it's not as though I could have chosen to wear flats at such an event. Not that I'm not proud for Matt, I totally am. Getting in to Med School alone is a pretty huge deal, so I can only imagine what it must be like to not only graduate but land your first job and finish off the year. I just can't remember the last time I've had to get this dress up and my feet were definitely not happy about it. I walked away from the painting I was pretending to analyze and decided to finally look around for Matt. I spot him on the other side of the room talking with the same group of people he was with I first excused myself, and told them I was going to look around and check out some of the art pieces.

As I approached, I hear Matt in some serious conversation with one of the female doctors he introduced me to earlier. What was her name again? Joanna? Jennifer? Something with a J. I hear a little bit of what Matt was saying but wasn't close enough to really know what they were talking about. It must be about something really funny because they both started cracking up. Matt looks up and gives me the same smiles he always gives me.

"Hey there you are" He says when I finally get to them. He wraps an arm around me and kisses the top of my head. It was such a routine thing with him. One thing about Matt is that he's completely predictable. You always knew what to expect from him. He's never been good with surprises. In fact he completely sucked at them. But maybe that was what made me fall in love with him. He was completely opposite of what my life was before him. My life before Matt was a little like being on a rollercoaster ride. It was full of ups and downs and just when you think you're finally on a straight track and the ride is just about to end, it takes you on an unexpected twist or throws you in for a loop. Matt was a welcomed changed from all that. He was a rock. Steady. Someone you can undeniably rely on. That's what makes him not only such a great partner, but an amazing doctor. He's only just at the beginning of his career but already you can tell how good he is at it. I'm seen him with patients at the hospital a few times when I've gone to visit. He has a way of making people feel at ease, and people genuinely light up when they see him.

"So I was just telling Julia.." Matt started, oh right that's it. Julia! That was her name!... "about the time we were in Paris and we were at that fancy 5 star restaurant"

Oh great, Matt was telling strangers embarrassing travel stories about me. I was just about to interject and explain myself when someone announced that we were now moving on the to dinner portion of the evening and that we were requested in the dining hall. I checked the time again. I wasn't sure how long dinner would end and I wanted to talk to John before he had to get to bed.

"You guys go ahead" I say to Matt "I'm just going to check in on John"

Matt gives me a look "Amy, he's fine. We just saw him this morning. And it's not like he's with some random sitter, he's with his father"

"I know. I just…"

"I get it. It's a mom thing" He interjects. "I'll see you inside. Don't be too long"

And there it was, the doctor thing he does so well. He starts of by making you realize that your fears are irrational by restating reality, making you feel a little silly about your concerns - but then sympathizes with your feelings by saying 'hey, it's ok I get it'. You're totally allowed to feel like that.

"Thanks babe". I give him a quick kiss before he leaves to catch up with the rest of his colleagues.

I pull my cell phone out and find Ricky's number. It takes several rings but finally Ricky picks up.

"Hey school pick up go ok this morning?" Ricky says without saying hi. Wait WHAT did he just say? **HE** was the one who was suppose to do pick up today. **HE** was suppose to get John. Suddenly my mind started racing like a mile a minute. That was the agreement and we **confirmed** it this morning. Right? Oh my god. Did I forget to confirm? No, no we had the conversation. I remember having the conversation. This was one hundred percent on Ricky. Oh. MY. God, where was John?!

I opened my mouth ready to ream him out and was seriously turning towards the exit to go find my son when I hear him laugh "I'm kidding Amy, relax John's fine. Or I think he is. He's somewhere around here"

"Ricky Underwood!" I say in a threatening tone. "That was **not** funny". I closed my eyes, my heart beat slowing down and becoming regular again. And suddenly realizing how irrational I reacted just now. Even if someone wasn't there to pick up John after school, one of us would have heard from the school immediately.

And then there was Ricky Underwood. He was the god damn roller coaster ride.

"Okay, okay I'm sorry" He says still chuckling which was adding to my current sense of frustration, "But on a scale of 1 to infinity how freaked out were you?"

I didn't answer, and even though he couldn't see I rolled my eyes. I did sigh loud enough to let him know he was more than testing my patience.

"Oh so like a million. Got it. JOHN! COME HERE SON"

I'm going to kill him. I am going to kill Ricky Underwood the next time I see him.

"You're a real ass you know that?" I say over the phone. I then hear some movement on his end hear John somewhere in the background.

"Mom's on the phone for you" Ricky says, his voice was muted so he must have taken the phone away from him and seconds later John came on the line.

"Mom?"

"Hey, there's my little national league champ!" I say with pride, their baseball team having just won the National Championship for little league. "How was school today?"

"s'kay" He says. As someone whose been a mother to a 9 year old for almost a year, I was beginning to get really good at 9 year old speak. Which is actually not too different from toddler speak. As a toddler they are trying to communicate with you but don't know how yet so you fill in the words for them. As an 9 year old, they have the ability but no longer want to. So what John was saying was "School was good. Actually it was great. Did some work, played football with my friends during recess, which you probably know since I've been attached to that thing since the superbowl happened. Oh and I probably ruined the shorts you just got me over a week ago because sliding across the damp grass is for some reason really fun. But I don't really feel like telling you any of this so I'm going to go ahead and say, 'it was okay'. Scratch that, that's way too many words s'kay'. Yeah we'll go with that"

"Oh good" I say back over the phone "Dad cook you dinner?"

"uh huh"

God I missed the days when it seemed like I couldn't get him to stop talking. Now I'm lucky if I get two words out of him.

"What'd you guy have?"

"I don't know"

Now I could tell he just stopped paying attention to what I was saying altogether. Probably distracted by some kind of device in his hands. If you haven't tried motherhood yet, you should. It's really rewarding.

"Okay well I just wanted to check in before you went to bed. I will pick you up from dad's tomorrow okay? Then we're going to go visit grandpa in the afternoon"

"K" came the uninterested response. Well great. Glad I stayed back from dinner for this.

"Okay well, I love you bud"

"Yeah, love you mom"

"Oh good. At least I get an I love you"

"Whoa, whoa. I have a girlfriend, I'm not that kind of guy. At least not anymore" Ricky was back on the line which meant John must have passed the phone over and not heard the last thing I said.

"Ha. Ha" I respond unamused. "I try to check in on my only child, on the week he's suppose to be spending with me, and having a conversation with him is practically like pulling teeth"

"Oh yah I know. You think we should be concerned about his lack of vocabulary? Like he does know more words than just 'sure' or 'yeah', right? Public education amiright?"

I laugh. Well good to know it's not just with me.

"How's it going though?" Ricky asks, his tone now changing to that of an 'adult'. That was one thing that Ricky did well. He can be really silly. So silly that you could lose your patience with him which completely explains John's own exasperating attitude. But then it was like he had this maturity switch he can turn on and off whenever he felt like it. And when he felt like it, acting like a grown up I mean, he's someone that you can really talk to about anything. And if I'm being perfectly honest, sometimes 'silly' is a nice welcome break.

"I mean other than the fact that I'm completely out of place? Wonderful" I say sarcastically.

"Well it's a big night for him. You got to be the supporting first lady. And it must mean a lot for him to be able to share that with you, you know?"

"I know, I know" I say, trying not to sound too whiney. Like honestly I'm at a banquet with a bunch of top notch Medical professionals, about to enjoy a first class meal – and I'm complaining. First world problems. "I'm being a big baby".

"Nah, you're alright. I'm sure it's just the heels talking"

I smile. Sometimes I forget how well Ricky knew me. But then again we've know each other for 10 years now and we've been through a lot together through most of that time.

"Ugh these heels! Honestly it wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for these shoes"

"Well you can't wear sweat pants everywhere"

"Why not" I say pretending to whine, also a little bit stalling from having to go in there and face that group again.

"Because you're young, and dating a pretty decent looking doctor and seriously you've really let yourself go since high school. Otherwise, Matt might just decide to leave you for a really hot nurse"

"You are unreal" I say but couldn't help chuckling, unlike Matt I can take a lighthearted joke. That was one other thing Ricky was good for, some lighthearted back and fort banter. Something I try to do with Matt once in a while but he never bites, never gets that it's a joke – just like the Oscar thing this afternoon.

"Alright, well I better go" I say with a sigh "Give our little league champ a kiss for me"

"Sure. Have fun and tell Matt I say congrats"

I hang up the phone and walk into the grand dining room to join Matt, swearing a little at how much my toes were being squeezed by my shoes. I checked my watch and let out another sigh. Only a few more hours then I can change into PJs and hide under a warm cozy blanket.


	3. Chapter 3

**Ricky**

I wake up and it's still dark. I can hear Clementine softly breathing next to me. I open my eyes and see her facing the other way, her hair spread across her pillow. I reach out to her and wrap an arm around her small waist. She's wearing one of my old shirts, something she slipped on earlier that night, after we made love. My thought shifts to trying to get her out of the shirt again. I gently pull her close and she shifts over to her back and sleepily open her eyes. "Hey" I whisper.

"Ricky?" she asked a little confused

I kiss her collar bone and bury my head into her neck.

"I want you" I say a bit breathless. She shifts a little more to allow me to move on top of her, I settle myself between her thighs, and then push myself up a little to slide her shirt over hear head…

When I woke up in the morning, she was already out of bed. Even though it was a Saturday, it still didn't surprise me. I got up of bed, checked the time and noticed it was only 8:30 in the morning. Late for some people, but a little early for my standards, especially for a weekend. On top of the fact that I had no real plans for the day and it was Amy's weekend with John, so I didn't even have to parent. Yeah, 8:30 is definitely way to early to be getting out of bed for this kind of Saturday.

I decided to forgo boxers, and pulled on a pair of grey sweatpants. I headed out into the living room, and realized that Clementine was not at her usual spot on the couch.

"Babe?" I call out, even though there was really no where else she could be. Our place was small, an open concept so other than the balcony, and the bedroom every inch of the apartment was completely visible. There was no sign that the balcony had opened so I knew she wouldn't be out there. I walk over to the kitchen to make myself a cup of coffee, and instantly saw the bright orange post it.

"Didn't want to wake you. At the office to look through some files and maybe get some more work done. See you when I get back"

Of course she was working. What a surprise.

I debated whether or not I should go back to bed, since there was really nothing for me to do. It was tempting, but I'm already up. Might as well make the most of it. I headed into the bedroom to change into some workout gear, resisting the urge to jump back into bed and instead head out for a morning run.

I got about 2 miles, when I decided to head back. I was almost near the apartment, when I hear a boy call out 'Dad', in what sounded like John's voice. I stop and looked around, and saw that it was definitely John. He and Amy was standing on the other side of the street. I waved, and waited for a few cars to past before crossing over to meet them.

"What are you guys doing in this part of town?"

"Matt's working, so we decided to get up early and have breakfast together before he had to head of to the hospital. He just left for work and I figured it be nice to do a bit of shopping while we're here"

Made sense. The apartment I share with Clementine is located right in the small downtown area of our town, and the hospital was only a couple blocks away.

"Can't we just go home? Do we still need to walk around?" John asks.

Amy gives me a look, and rolls her eyes. A way of saying, can you believe this kid?

"Why don't you come home with me? Mom can pick you up when she's done".

John automatically lights up this. "Mom, can I?" He looks up, pleadingly at Amy.

She looks from John to me. "You sure?"

"Yeah, Clementine's at work, it's just me right now. Kind of perfect I ran into you guys".

Amy pauses, but then says "Alright, well if it's okay with you. I'll be by in an hour or so"

"YES!" John yells out, pumping his fist.

"Don't sound too excited about not having to spend quality time with Mom" Amy says cheekily, kissing the top of John's head "I'll see you both later".

She was about to leave when I remembered about the party next week, Meghan had invited us to. "Oh, before I forget – you guys going to Meghan's art launch party next week?" I had some news to share with her and I figured the party would be a perfect time.

"Matt has to work, but I'll definitely be there"

"Life as a first year doctor huh" I smile, in sympathy.

Ricky could all of a sudden relate. Loosing your partner for hours and hours on end, because of work was something he beginning to be all to familiar with.

Amy sighs and gives a what can you do shrug "What'd I get myself into, right?"

The comment caught me off guard. Not so much the comment but the way she looked when she said it. I've known Amy for a long time and that wasn't just a nonchalant response. I mean I could just be imaging things but she looked almost sad when she said that. But of course she would be, who wouldn't when you're constantly having to go at it solo because the person you're with is at work all the time. Not that Matt could help it, that was part of the job of being a doctor and I knew Amy understood that. I shake the feeling of pity out of my head, knowing that's the last thing Amy wants people to feel about her. She knew the life she chose, so she must have mad peace with it if she still with him. I turn my attention to John "Want to get some ice-cream before we go to my place?"

That seemed to get his attention "Yeah!"

I chuckle and decided to not give anymore thought to a relationship that really didn't concern me.

At the apartment John had asked if he could play video games. It's something he rarely gets to do at Amy's house I think, so naturally he tries to take advantage of how much playing time he gets while at my house. I honestly don't see what the big deal is, really there's tons of research that it improves hand eye coordination and problem solving skills so really he's learning, right?

I jump into the shower, still sweaty from my run. By the time I've gotten out, John had the full gear on, headphones and everything and playing with some people online. I make sure he knows who he's playing with. So I motion for him to pause the game. He takes one ear out and looks at me.

"Who are you online with?"

"Liam and Sonny" He responds, and I nod allowing him to get back to his game. John knows he's that if he was to play online, that he only limits it to people he actually knows and not to add any strangers to his profile.

I decided to make a late breakfast. Even though John had already eaten with is Mom, I haven't had anything and John is at that stage where he never turns food down. 15 minutes, I had two decent looking breakfast place done and I place them on top of the small kitchen island. It's actually perfect to get this time alone with John. There's was a conversation I wanted to have with him and this was as good as time as any to have it.

I call John over. I hear him tell his friends he was to go, and comes over to sit on the island.

I pass him his plate and begin the conversation.

"So, since Clementine isn't here maybe I can ask you something about her"

"Okay" he says, shovelling a piece of sausage in his mouth.

"Well, I know I haven't asked you this before but what do you think about her?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean do you like the fact that she's kinda part of our family"

"I guess"

"No John, come on. I really want to know how you feel. What you think"

"Why?"

"Because it's important to me. I…" I paused for a second, trying to gather my thoughts. Thinking about how I wanted to approach this. It seemed weird but I'm actually thinking how it may have been better if Amy was here to help me out with this. Between the two of us, she was expert on how to explain difficult adult situations in a way that was child friendly for John. "I know right now, we're just dating – me and her. But one day she might be a permanent part of our family. I was thinking maybe, what you thought about if I was to maybe marry her?"

"You want to marry Clementine?" This seemed to get his attention.

"Yeah, one day. I'm thinking of asking her soon actually. What do you think about that?"

John said nothing. Just shrugs his shoulders. Not exactly the reaction I was expecting. Not that I knew what to expect really, but this didn't seem like a positive sign.

"If you married her, do I have to call her mom?" He asked.

"That's entirely up to you".

"I'd rather just keep calling her Clementine"

"Sure" I say ruffling his hair. Which was fair. Amy was John's mom, he himself wasn't sure how comfortable he would be to hear John call someone else that. If the situation was reverse he knew he may not be entirely comfortable if John started calling another man 'dad'.

"Will anything have to change?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know, like will you to have to move?"

"No of course not. Everything will stay exactly the way it is now. And even if we do move, your schedule and where you live and who you stay with when, the amount of time you see me and your mother - that will always stay that same"

"Okay good"

"So you're fine with it?"

"Yeah, It's not like I really have to spend a lot of time with her. It mostly you mom and Matt that does things with me so yeah I guess it's fine"

That comment caught me off guard for some reason, but I shook it off.

"Well I just want you to be happy with it"

"Dad, if you want to marry Clementine. Then go for it. As long as you're happy"

I had to laugh at that last sentiment. It was something he and Amy told him often. If he and Amy had anything in common, it would be to see their child grow up simply happy and content. Maybe that's why they've just learned to get along so well after all these years. At the end of the day, it wasn't about them. It was about this little boy, this boy that was becoming not so little anymore and they both understood that"

"Thanks kid" I say, reaching over to rub his hair.

He ducks before I can really mess it up. "okay okay jeez".

The buzzer sounded, signalling that there was someone downstairs, which was mostly likely Amy coming back for John.

"Alright but you need to keep all this a secret for now okay? You're the only person who knows about this"

"Yah okay"

"I mean it John. Not a word, not even to mom. I'll tell her soon but it's still a surprise for Clementine"

"Yah yah" showing the same disinterest as he does with most things. Which tells me it wasn't anything I really needed to worry about.


	4. Chapter 4

**Amy**

I sighed as I grabbed my small black purse and keys. Normally the perks of being in a relationship was that you never had to go to these things alone. But for me it was the exact opposite, I was in a committed relationship without getting any of the perks that came with one. In that sense, I could very well just be single.

20 minutes later I arrived at the party and of course the first person I see is Clementine. She was talking to a few very classy looking ladies and Ricky was no where to be found. I caught her eye, and gave her a friendly smile and waved of acknowledgement, not wanting to interrupt the conversation she was having.

I spotted Ricky at the bar a minute later. I walked over to say hello and, was approached by a girl dressed in black offering sparkling Champaign and gladly took one.

"Well of course I'd bumped into you at the bar" I say as I walked up from behind him. Ricky turned around, holding a cold beer in his hand.

"Hey, Matt couldn't make huh?" He says looking around.

"Nope, I mean you know how it is with his schedule, and it being the first year on the job. It's good though. He really loves it. He's committed to it. He's good at that, honoring his commitments"

"Ohhh" Ricky puts a fist to his chest and feigns a pained expression "Ouch. Was that a jab at my relationship history?" He chuckles, indicating that he was making a joke rather than taking offence.

I playfully hit him on the arm with the back of my hand in response.

"Welllll" I smile "Commitment isn't always a bad word you know"

"I know, I know" he raised his brow "Don't you think I've doing better with that lately though?"

Amy simply looks at me, waits for me to continue.

"My job, John. Clementine."

"Yeah well you love your job, and you love John and I'm going to go ahead and assume you love Clementine. It's hard not to be committed to people and things you love"

Ricky lowered his eyes for a brief second and then brought it back up and met mines again. For some reason unbeknownst to me it almost knocks me off balance. Then his expression changes again. Almost like he was considering something, and wasn't sure if he should tell me. I of course, automatically assumed the worst.

"What?" I asked, a bit defensively in my tone.

"I didn't say anything" He responded back, a bit cautiously.

"I can read you like a book, idiot. What is it? Is it something about John?"

"No" He shakes his head, trying to reassure me "it's not about John. I mean not entirely"

"Ricky you're freaking me out" I say preparing myself for the worst. My mind started going through a list of things it could be about. He got a job and has to move. He didn't get a new job but has to move anyway. For some reason I'm going through a bunch of scenarios where Ricky was moving off somewhere to another state or country.

"Well I haven't gotten a ring yet, but for a while I've been thinking…"

"OH…MY…GOD!" I didn't yell, just mouthed my response to show a mixture of both shock and excitement, already registering what he was trying to tell me, completely forgetting about my worries.

The left corner of Ricky's mouth lifts up, revealing a shy smirk, and looking down again for a second.

"Yeah…" He says, lifting his eyes again. He combs a hand, the one that's not holding his beer through his hair exhaling a little. "What do you think?"

"What do I think?" I asked a little shocked "I think that's amazing! Wait you're not moving are you?"

"What no" He says frowning in confusing "What is it with you and John and having to move"

I laugh assuming that John probably asked him the same thing when he told him. "That's so awesome Ricky" I say still smiling, realizing that I really did mean it. I initially felt a dip at the bottom of my stomach but ignored it. He's gone through so much. Changed so much. He totally deserves all the happiness in the world.

"Yeah?" he says in a question like tone, though his smile appearing wider.

"Uh yeah" I say nodding, smiling back.

I lean in to give him a hug, and he immediately wraps his arms around my back.

"Congratulations, Ricky" I whisper, my chin resting a little on his shoulders. I'm all too quickly reminded on how many times he use to hold me like this, all those years ago. I feel his head lead against mine for a few seconds, before we both decide we should probably pull away.

"Do you have a plan on how you're going to do it?" I asked.

"Not yet. I still have to find a rock, which is going to be the hard part I think, but only you and John know".

"When did you tell him?"

"The day I ran into you guys downtown"

I smile "Did you ask him if he would be your best man?"

"No, but I should have. Thanks for the idea"

"I meannn who else would you ask?" I say a bit knowingly, getting another smile out of him.

"You know it's not nice to flaunt the fact that you're always right" He says still smiling.

"I'm sorry what was that? I didn't hear what you said" I say trying to look serious, holding back an urge to laugh.

"Really Aimes, it's unbecoming"

I finally let a smile out. It was great to see him happy "Well congratulations Mr. Underwood. I couldn't be more happy for you. You deserve it"


	5. Chapter 5

**Ricky 6 Months Later**

He thought he knew his wife. Or soon to be wife. He thought he knew how she was going to react. Well at least expected to react. After all, they have had those 'what if' conversations when they realized that their relationship was fast becoming more serious and less of just a 'sexual' attraction to each other. He had expected her to be excited. He knew how much she had been wanting a wedding, but this intensity was on a whole other level. They've set a date a few months ago and Clementine has now not only been on full work mode, but full wedding planning mode as well and it was making her a little…well it was making her seem a little crazy. He's heard the word 'bridezilla' from women at work whenever they spoke about a friend of theirs getting married. While he wouldn't want to refer to his future wife as that, the pressure of her new job on top of trying to plan her perfect wedding was definitely taking it's toll on his wife to be.

"We could change the date, maybe to a later one" he had suggested one time when he was afraid she was on the verge of loosing it all from stress.

Clementine's only response was to glare at him.

"What do you need help with?" He asks, quickly an attempt to recover from his first comment.

She hands him a sheet with different fonts on it, which to him all looked exactly the same and immediately he felt as though he was just given a surprise quiz that he felt pressured to pass.

He pretends to consider all the options, which was silly because he really couldn't care less.

"I like Helvitaca downward script"

She takes the sheet from him, and look up looking exasperated.

"Really?"

"Is that not a good one?"

"It's fine, I'm just…I don't know if it goes with the layout we want". She says holding it up to the computer screen that had different templates.

Since the day the got engaged, Clementine has been on hyper drive. When she wasn't bringing work home, she covered every surface of the house with wedding booklets, brochures what have you.

I'm working on a project for a new client we picked up. My email notification has began beeping none stop, a sure tell that Clementine was on her lunch break. From what I understood, she usually never took breaks, unless work was slow at the office. Which is must be, because now she took her work breaks as an opportunity to litter his inbox with wedding stuff.

I sigh at the same time my phone began to rang. I looked at the ID and Amy's name is coming up. Does everyone in the entire world need something from him today or what.

"Hey what's up" I say, as I pick up the call.

"Are you at work?"

"Where else would I be?"

"I don't know" She responds pretending to sound exasperated "How should I know how you spend your days"

"Yes, Amy I'm at work" I say back with the same exasperated voice.

"Alright I'm like right in front of your building. Are you able to meet me for a quick sec? I just need you to sign some forms for John"

"Everything ok?" I ask frowning.

"Oh yeah, nothing to worry about. He had a dentist appointment this morning and he needed to get fillings done. He's got two cavities. Since it's probably your fault, seems only right your insurance takes care of it"

"Ha, ha. Why don't you just come up. I'm on the fourth floor. I'll meet you by the elevators"

A few minutes later, Amy walks out of the elevator and I lead her into my office.

"Wow. I can't believe I've never been here before"

"Yeah, that's right. I've been here a year now. I've brought John up a couple times"

We stopped in front the of the large corner office, and made a gesture for her to walk in.

"Wait what?" Amy asked, shocked. The impression on her face exactly what I was hoping for. "Ricky Underwood, . office. She says, annunciating each of the last 5 words, still just lingering outside the door, looking back from me to the glorious space before her. I mean I can understand her shock and awe, it is a pretty impressive space.

I fold my arms in front of me. "Why? You don't think someone like me could have an office like this?" I say with a bit of smirk.

She starts stuttering a bit, probably unsure of how to respond, without trying to undermine me. God I know this girl all too well, I think almost giving out a laugh.

"No, it's not that, it's just I didn't realize that you guys get – what the hell is it you do again?"

"Welp you're right, this isn't my office" I say without missing a beat, and turned to walk away towards my actual office space, not even bothering to look at her reaction, but I hear her follow me.

I walk right into one that had my name glued on the outside glass wall, and significantly smaller than the first one we stopped at. "Here we are. Have a seat" It's obviously not as grand, but at least it's not a cubicle.

"You're a real idiot you know that" she says leaning against the entry way, not at all appreciating my little joke. Except for the executives and boardrooms, our offices are all built with glass walls, with no real doors, just an opening to walk through giving the whole floor a very open feel.

"So whose office was that?"

"Adam Rexwald. He's one of the execs that oversees this department. He's away on a business trip this week. Otherwise I would have introduced you. He's a really great guy. I consider him a mentor".

"And what is it that you do again?"

"I mean it's kinda really complicated. We analyze new start ups, predict how profitable…"

Amy mimes falling asleep.

"Joke all you want, but it's paying for your son's fillings"

"Fair enough" She says "Speaking of which" She pulls the forms out and hands them over for me to sign.

I take them from her and grabbed a pen to put my signature down. "Was this so important you had to track me down at work?"

Amy helps herself to a seat on one of the chairs facing my table.

"After I dropped John back off at school, I thought maybe I'd come to the city and try and catch Matt on his lunch break"

Judging from her body language, I'm guessing it didn't go as planned

"But you know, sick people waits not for lonesome girlfriends. So anyways, I figured since I was down here already I can get this out of the way. Other wise it's sitting around for another week. But hey at least I feel productive. I'm never on top of things like this"

She's not lying. The amount of money she must have wasted just because she didn't fill out the proper insurance forms and having to pay for things out of pocket. Back when John was little and they were a couple, it was always him that handled anything regarding that. Heck, who knows what school John would have gone to, if he wasn't on top getting him applied for it.

"Yeah really though" I say handing her the signed forms back. I looked at my watch, it was almost 1pm and I suddenly realized I'm starving. "Well, I'm up for lunch if you still haven't eaten"

"Wait, are you asking me to have…lunch…with….you?" She overexaggerates a look of shock and puts a hand on a chest.

"Well not if you're going to be weird like that. I'm debating taking back the invite"

She laughs a genuine laugh, which made me smile a little. Amy had lots of different laugh, and this one was my favourite. Maybe because it's so few and far in between. It makes her sound young, carefree. Like a teenager having fun around a bonfire with a few of her best buddies just goofing around. Man I'm thinking about this way more than I should be.

"Yah I'm down" She says, breaking my train of thought. "Where shall we go?"

"The diner across the street is really good, they have the most amazing fries"

"Oh my god, I've been craving fries all day! Yeah lets go there"

"Wait, you're not pregnant are you?" I tease grabbing my jacket, Amy now has stood up and is waiting by the door.

"Shut up, why would you say that?" She says slapping my arm as we make our way towards the elevator.

"Hey, I'm just saying. Remember in high school when you like shoved two full orders of fries in your mouth in like 5 minutes"

She covers her face with her hands in the memory, and I laugh thinking about that moment.

"Oh god" She says her face still in her hands.

"Yeah, you had one order of fries then told, no more like demanded, I get an order too. Which I didn't want by the way but for some reason you kept insisting that I get one. Then you ended up just downing like 5lbs of fried potatoes. Don't get me wrong, I found it highly impressive"

"Is that how you remember me in high school"

"No…it's not" I say with a bit more emotion that I meant to.

It didn't go unnoticed and we were both silent for a while, not knowing what to say.

Amy finally broke the silence.

"Well these fries better be worth their reputation or I'm demanding my money back"


	6. Chapter 6

**Amy**

"You sure there's no way you can even make it for at least the later part of the event tonight?"

"I just don't want to make any promises babe" Matt says back over the phone "I'll tell you what, best I can promise is to call you when I'm done. We can judge then if it's worth for me to go home, shower and dress and do all that"

"Alright, well – I guess I better go get ready. I still have to pack John's stuff up. My dad should be here soon"

"I'm sorry baby, I really wish I could go but I can't control how many hours I spend here you know that"

"I know, it's just you already missed the first one, it would have just been nice if you could have came to this one"

"I know babe" I can hear the guilt and distress in his voice "If I could I would be there for you. It's just…"

"I know, I know" suddenly I felt bad for making him feel guilty. I knew, right from the beginning of this relationship that he would practically be married to the hospital, especially since this was just his first year in. Not only does he tend to get stuck with the less desirable shifts, but he usually has to spend more usually learning how to do paper work or admin things. "I know you have to work, I really do. I'm sorry I didn't mean to be sulky".

"Baby" He whispers on the phone "You're not being sulky. And I'm glad you care enough to want me to be there with you tonight. I wish I could, I know I keep letting you down".

"Oh my god, Matt. No. You're not letting me down at all. If anything I'm proud of you for being so dedicated. And I'm glad John has someone like you to look up to"

There was a pause on his end.

"See you later tonight?" He whispers, his voice low. Knowing Matt, I know he's not insinuating anything. He's just signing of the call, just how one would say 'see ya later' before walking away, regardless I feel a little shiver go up my spine.

"Yeah, see you later tonight" I say with my eyes close.

"Babe" He says just before I was about to disconnect the call,

"Yeah?"

"Send me a picture of you in your dress?"

I couldn't help giggling, and then immediately stopped myself. Oh god - I'm giggling.

"Yeah right. Why don't you just try and see if you can make it tonight, then you can see it in person?"

I hear him groan on the other end and this time I let out a laugh.

"Alright well have fun tonight k"

"Yeah I will, you too – at work"

"Love you"

I miss moments like these. These days Matt and I little time together than it feels like I'm single all over again. Sometimes I forget that we're even a couple or that we love each other. But it's times like these, that reminds me why I'm with the guy. Matt. The steady rock. The one who grounds me. Just like now.

I respond back and finally hung up, and went downstairs to make and early dinner for John. I figured I'll whip up something easy, like Mac and Cheese. After about 20 minutes, I turn of the stove and call John down for an early dinner. Surprisingly he showed up in the kitchen in a matter of minutes.

"Hey, grab a bowl. Grampa will be here soon and he has Robbie with him, so you'll have company tonight"

Silently he walks over to the cupboard to grab a bowl.

"So this party that you're going to. You don't have anyone to go with?"

"Well your dad and Clementine will be there and a few of our friends, I'll know some people. Why?" I asked a bit confused. John doesn't take interest in anything other than maybe video games, these days so it's a bit of a shock he would asks about an event I have to go to tonight.

"Well I remember you told Dad last week, Matt couldn't go and I heard you and Matt talking yesterday before he went to work and you sounded sad that you wouldn't have anyone to go with"

Suddenly my heart broke. I can't even begin to describe how much I love this boy.

"Oh John" I walked over and kissed the top of his head "You don't have worry about that. Like I said, there's a lot of people there that I know"

"Will everyone else have a date?" He asked, not looking up from his bowl.

"I don't know buddy. It's not required so I would assume not. Why do you want to be Mom's date for tonight?" I say the last part jokingly.

"Well if you didn't have anyone else to go with I would go with you"

For a few minutes I didn't know what to say. Then I suddenly found myself fighting back stupid tears. John, my son. MY son, just offered to be his mom's date because he thought I was sad for not having anyone to go with.

Fighting back emotions and speaking in what I hoped was a normal voice I tell him, "I would love if you came with me. But you don't have to do that. I don't think there's going to be any kids there your age, and like I said Robbie is with grandpa tonight, so you might have more fun there"

"s'kay" he says shrugging, still looking down in his cheesy pasta as he eats "besides, you said Dad will be there right".

I hesitate for a minute but finally responds, "Well I would love for you to come with me tonight, but just so you are aware, it is just an art gallery for Aunt Meaghan's show. There will be nothing there but grown ups and paintings".

"Mom I said I'd go okay" he says finally looking up from his bowl and looking right at me. And just like that, I was looking at Ricky. Well not Ricky exactly, but probably what Ricky would have looked like at that age. He's growing up my baby. And he's picking up so many of these small mannerisms Ricky has that sometimes it seems as though they're the same person. Like I've travelled back in time and meeting Ricky as a child. He's gotten that stubbornness from him that's for sure.

"Alright then" I say smiling back at him. "Let me call grandpa"

An hour later, I'm in my gallery dress helping John button up his dress shirt. I texted Meaghan and she was more than trilled at me bringing John. Ricky and I met her a few years ago at one of John's baseball games. She had been dating Brendan back then, a single dad and had come with him to watch his son play. We hit it off with them right away and are still pretty great friends with the two of them. Brendan more so, since John and his son are still playing on the same baseball team. "It's been so long since I've last seen him, he must be so big now" She had said with enthusiasm over the phone.

"Alright bud" here we go, I say getting up "Ready".

He just nodded and I wonder if I've gotten the last word out him for tonight. I checked my watch. 6:30. The event started at 7 so we had enough time to get there without being late, but we would have to leave now.

"Dad!" John called out as soon as he saw his Dad at the gallery. He was with Clementine looking at a picture. She was holding a glass of Champaign and he had a bottle of beer. Typical Ricky.

"John?" Ricky called back turning around when he heard his voice. He looked up at me looking a bit confused.

"This boy offered to be my date tonight, seeing as how I didn't have anyone to accompany me yet again" I say when I finally reached them, placing my hand on John's shoulders.

"That's my boy" Ricky says ruffling his hair "Already learning to save a damsel in distress"

"Uh excuse me, I'll have you know I am no damsel. Nor am I, or was I in any way distressed". Before I could say anything else, I spotted Meaghan out of the corner of my eye and decided to go say hi.

"One sec guys, I'm just going to say go and congratulate Meaghan. Come on John, lets go say hi". With my hands still on his shoulders I steer him towards where Meaghan is standing. She turns, seeing us walk towards her.

"Amy!" She says smiling, walking towards John and myself. "And oh my gosh John look how big you've gotten"

"Hi Meaghan" John says shyly.

"You still play baseball, yeah?"

"Yeah"

"What about Braden, you guys still see each other?"

"Yeah we're still on the same team"

"Oh nice!" Meaghan says "Listen, I know it's just grown up food here but when your mom told me you were coming I had someone bring in a mix bag of popcorn and some other things. If you go over to the bar and give them your name they'll give you a little goody bag"

John smiles gratefully, "Thanks Meaghan!" and runs off towards the bar to retrieve his package.

"You didn't have to do that" I tell her

"Oh it's nothing…Ricky and uh" she says looking over my shoulder.

"..Clementine" I finish for her. She lightly touches my elbow, but continues looking straight at both Ricky and Clementine as a sign of gratitude.

"So what do you guys think? Is it better than last time?"

"I don't know, both shows are pretty impressive. Your photographs are absolutely stunning" Clementine says.

"Yeah really Megs, they're amazing" says Ricky.

"Well thanks you guys" She says giving out a low laugh. "Anyways better go make some rounds. I'll see you guys later"

As soon as she walked away, John came back with his little goody bag. Though it was more like a gift bag.

"Mom, look at this there's a squirt gun in here!" He says peering into it. I just shook my head, leave it to Meg to go over the top on something she didn't even have to do to begin with. Though I can't say I'm all surprised. Back when she and Brendan were dating she had organized Braden's 7th birthday party and the kids talked about it for the rest of the baseball season.

"Hey bud want to have a walk around with me? There's some really cool race car photos over on the other side"

"Yeah okay cool" he says, still rummaging through his gift bag. "Whoooaaa a light up pen! Sweet!"

"Let me have a look at that" Ricky says snatching it away from him as the two walked away.

"DAD!" John exclaims back.

I just shook my head. Maybe it was a good thing to have brought John with her after all. It seems like he'll have an alright time. Besides, it's great exposure for him, the arts and culture. It just dawned on me that John does a lot of sports and outdoor stuff but they haven't really gone to a lot of galleries or museums. I need to put that on my to do list of activities this summer. Suddenly I realized that I had been left alone with Clementine. Both her and I had just been watching Ricky and John walk away in silence.

"So" I start turning towards her "How's the wedding planning going?"

"It's been a little stressful" She laughs "But I think I'm managing. It's crazy because, my firm just took on a crazy case so I've been having to deal with that workload on top of everything"

Is it just me or has she gotten like so much classier and prettier since the last time I've seen her. But then again, she was dressed up for formal event.

"Oh wow. I can't even imagine how tough that must be. Tackling a hard case while planning a wedding".

She gives out a loud sigh indicating her frustration with having to do it all, "Well, it's been challenging to say the least, but you just go with it I guess and do the best you can"

Should I offer her my help or would that be awkward? Oh what the heck. "You know if you need any help don't hesitate to ask".

"Oh" Clementine says looking a bit shocked, though I can't blame her "Thanks Amy, that's really sweet of you"

We walked around a bit, mostly talking about work just because there really wasn't much else to talk about. I have to say it feels a little bit good to reach out to Ricky's fiancée like this.

"Well I better go see what Ricky is up to" She says checking her watch "I know it's still a little early but it might be time for us to call it a night"

"Yeah, I wasn't planning on staying too long either – especially now that I've brought John along"

We found John and Ricky looking at pictures of caves and tunnels.

"Oh that one is really cool" I hear John say to Ricky. Well I'm glad he's having a good time. Yes, definitely need to expose him more to the arts.

"Hey love, ready to go?" Clementine says as we approached them from behind.

They both turned around and John looked up at his dad.

"Actually I told John that we could do a little late night go carting, since we're right by the place. We got a little inspired from the art" They both instinctively look to me, asking for permission.

"I'm okay with that" I say. It was only a little after 8 and it's not like there was anywhere I needed to be. I checked my phone a few minutes ago and Matt still hasn't texted so I can only assume he hasn't gotten out of work.

"I don't know Ricky" Clementine says looking at her watch again. "I wanted to get a bit of work done tonight still"

Ricky looks at John as if unsure what to say, almost getting ready to apologize. It didn't go unnoticed by Clementine.

"…but" she quickly adds "Why don't you guys go?"

"Yeah Dad, can we still go?" John ask hopeful. I could tell he really wanted to go, I haven't heard this many syllables – let alone words from him this week.

"That ok with you?" Ricky asks looking up at me.

Why not, it's not like we're doing anything else anyways. And I didn't want to deny John this opportunity, especially seeing how excited he is to do this with his dad.

"Yeah sure, maybe Matt can even meet us there if he gets a chance to get off work".

15 minutes later, we've said our goodbyes and I was walking with Ricky and John towards the Go Kart place. Go Karts, mini cars going at full speed in a small track. This should be fun.


	7. Chapter 7

_***A/N:**_ _I've noticed a few people have started to follow this story, so just want to send a quick thank you. I had this idea in my mind about what it might look like if Ricky and Amy decided to move on with other people, but still have an underlying chemistry together. Then kinda got bored with it, but don't worry I'm going to finish it - I can't just leave a story hanging*_

 **Ricky**

I walked into my apartment and dropped the keys on the table by the door. The place was dark except for a small amount of light coming from the bedroom door. Clementine must still be awake, which means she's probably still working.

We spent about an hour riding go karts. John of course had a blast, but everyone was pretty hungry after wards so we decided to grab a bite to eat and we ended up at an old diner Amy and I use to take John to when he was little. Like most 2 year olds, John didn't seem particularly concerned with getting food into his system. Back then trying to get him to focus on eating after taking a couple of bites of whatever food we tried to feed him was a battle all on it's own. We discovered Joe's one day when took him to a trip out in the city and we ended up getting him an order of chicken nuggets. Amy didn't order anything, cutting up small pieces for John to chew on, thinking she would have whatever John didn't end up eating but turned out it was the only thing he wouldn't stop eating. Tonight John ended up getting double orders of their nuggets along with fries and a milk shake. It would seem that they had nothing to worry about after all. I shook my head and smiled at the memory, and then walked towards the bedroom.

Sure enough Clementine was sitting up in bed, typing away on her laptop while piles of paper covered the surface of the bed she didn't occupy.

"How was it?" She asks, without looking up from what she was doing.

"Great. John had a great time" I say taking off my watch and setting it on the beside table.

"It's past midnight" She says finally looking up from the screen to me "We left the gallery a little before 9"

"Oh sorry babe" I say leaning down to give her a kiss on the head "We ended up grabbing food after"

"For 2 hours? It took you guys 2 hours to eat a meal?"

"I don't know babe, we got to the go kart place bought an hour worth of go karting then we left to get dinner. So plus whatever time it took to walk from the place to Joe's and the drive home. Why are you getting upset"

"You could have called and at least told me you were planning on staying out longer"

"What do you mean?"

"It would have been nice, so I didn't have to wait up"

"I'm sorry babe, I didn't realize that you were going to wait up for me, please don't be mad"

"Ricky. I'm not mad"

If she's not mad, then I know for sure she's a little irritated. I walk around to give her a kiss to try and lighten the mood.

"I would have just appreciated a phone call that's all"

"I know baby, I'm sorry I didn't call" I'm soon starting to realize that to make any relationship work, the best thing to do is to avoid conflict. If I have to apologize so we don't end up in a screaming match, where I end up sleeping on the couch then everything's the better for it.

I sat down beside her and brush hair off her face, before caressing her cheek. "It's late baby, why are you still doing work?"

She doesn't seem affected by the gesture at all, but she definitely doesn't sound as mad as she was earlier.

"You know why Ricky, we have that big case we're working on"

"I know, I know" I say getting up and began unbuttoning the buttons on my shirt to change into something more comfortable "But you're working all the time. And if you're not doing that, you're working on the wedding. I just think you need some sort of break. Tomorrows' Sunday, we should spend the whole day together. Go on a day trip, just you and me".

"No Ricky" She says, getting back to what she was doing "I can't take a break. You know that"

She's irritated again. I could tell. Like me suggesting we spend the whole day together instead of her doing work annoyed her.

"Okay, It was just a suggestion. Why are you getting upset?"

"I'm not upset Ricky" She sighs, "but I would hope you would be a little more understanding. I have a lot on my plate right now and taking a break would not do me any good"

I opened my mouth to say something, I think I have been a little more understanding about this whole thing. Like for instance, it's a little irritating to come home after a long day and find that my side of the bed is covered in file folders so I can't just take off everything and jump into bed like I want to, but decided against it. Instead I grab a pillow and made my way to the living room.

"Okay well, since you're busy in here I'm going to go and watch some tv for a bit. Let me know when you're done with this"

 **Amy**

I'm at work when I hear my cell phone go off. I dig around the bottom of my bag and saw Ricky's name on the caller ID.

I press my thumb on the screen and slide the button over to green dot with the phone thumbnail to answer.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Hey Aimes, was wondering if you could do me a huge favour"

"Depends"

"Could you take John this weekend, I know he's suppose to be with me but…"

"Yeah sure that's no problem" I say before he could finish, it wasn't even a question.

"Okay thanks great. I booked a weekend at the lake as surprise for Clementine a few weeks ago, and got the weekends mixed up. I figured with how much stressed she's been in with work and this wedding it'd be nice to surprise her with a relaxing weekend just the two of us"

"Yeah sure Ricky, you guys fun" I say reaching for a folder that had my notes in it "Wedding planning going ok?"

"Yeah, I mean guess so. I try to help…" he trails off, making me laugh.

"Really? You help? With wedding stuff?" I say jokingly, but then I hear Ricky sigh on the other end of the phone.

"Everything ok?" I ask, taking in a more serious tone.

"Yeah, yeah…everythings fine"

"Ricky…" I began ready to press on.

"Sorry Aimes, I gotta go meet with the team in 5 minutes"

"Oh uh alright" I say a bit startled.

"You're okay then? To pick up John after school, today?"

"Of course, it's no problem at all you know that"

"Great, thanks again Aimes, I'm sorry it's so last minute – I owe you one. I'll call you guys when I get back and then maybe see about switching weekends next week?"

"Sure".

"Oh and today he has…"

"after school practice for the soccer club…I got this Ricky. Go"

He hurriedly thanks me one more time before we both get off he call. I finish up what I'm working on and ended up getting home at 3:30. John has soccer practice after school which gives me about another hour before I have to pick him up. I opened the door and called out for Matt. We've both been under a lot of stress lately, him with late hours and I have to admit I've been getting snippy with him. Since he's off today, I was hoping to talk him into a date night, but now that we have John for a weekend we'll just have to turn it into a family outing. Which is just as well. I'm not the only time he's been needing to spend time with. When he came into our lives, John took to him almost right away and to my surprise I feel like the bonded right away. To my bigger surprise he and Ricky also hit it off right away. But lately, it seems like it's me and John on our own again with him spending so much time at work.

I hear Matt's voice coming from the kitchen. It sounds like he's on the phone with someone. I walk through the hallway and made my way to the back of the house.

"…Yeah no problem. Sure, glad I could help…" he turns and sees me standing at the doorway, and gives me a smile before turning his attention back to his phone call "alright well, I'll let you go. Good luck with the rest of your shift"

"Hey I say, everything alright?" I asked moving towards the fridge to pour myself some OJ.

"Yeah, that was um Julia from work. I guess she just wanted some advice regarding one of her patient"

I gave him an inquiring look. "Is that standard practice? Doctors calling other doctors at home to ask questions about their patient?"

He shrugs "He's a 75 year old man, that's been kind of a handful for her and the staff. It was more to reassure her that she's saying the right things. And it's not like she just any other doctor. We both started together as the two rookies on the job so we provide each other a lot of moral support".

"Oh okay. Well Ricky called earlier and asked if we can take John for this weekend" I say as his phone beeps. He quickly checks it before putting it away without saying anything so I continue "I told him it was fine".

"Everything alright with them?"

"Yeah, long story. Anyways I was thinking maybe doing a family outing tonight. It's been a while since the three of us has gone out"

"Sure babe. Sounds fine to me". He's back on his phone checking messages.

"What do you think about going to the arcade, pizza place?" He doesn't respond to this question.

"MATT!"

"What baby?" He says finally looking up.

"I was asking you if you want to go to the arcade pizza place" I say a little annoyed.

"Sure baby" He says walking pass me, giving me a kiss on the head as he walked by. "I have to fire off a couple of emails. I'll be in the office"

By office he meant the little make shift corner in the living room that held his computer and a desk covered with all his case files.

"k, cool. Glad we had this time to talk" I say to no one in the room. We rarely get to spend time together. Surprisingly I thought I'd be angrier at his aloofness, but I honestly didn't feel anything. Maybe I was just too tired to care, or worst – I'm starting to get used to this. But this isn't what I want in a relationship was it? Sure there wasn't the extreme up and downs I had when I was with Ricky, but this was too…calm. I use to think calm was great. Couples who never fought must have a perfect relationship. But now I wasn't too sure.

The next morning, I woke up feeling really nauseous. I got up and barely made it to the toilet before I ended up throwing up what looked like half of last nights dinner. I almost panicked thinking I had to start making breakfast, since John was here and we're out of cereal when I quickly remembered that he had gone over the my dad's last night. My dad ended up calling since he had Robbie all week. He's been spending more time over at my dad's appearantly (a rare thing for him, since Robbie mostly lived with my mom) and thought it'd be nice to get the boys together. It worked out well. John got to spend some time with his uncle (I know, it's weird) and Matt and I at least got to do a date night. Something we haven't done in ages. Although last night Matt seemed a bit distracted and to be honest I had kept checking my phone to see if I got any text from Dad or John and a colleague of mine was suppose to break a story he's been working on for months, he just need to tie up some loose ends with his contacts, so I've been checking my social media watching out for it.

I wipe my mouth and looked up at Matt standing by the bathroom door wearing a concerned frown.

"You okay?"

"Yeah" I say, leaning my back against the wall "What are the chances I got food poisoning from last night. I haven't felt this sick…" I froze. When was the last time I got my…oh god…could I be? No…"

"Amy?"

Matt must have seen something on my face because he immediately walked over and knelt in front of me. He placed a hand on my forehead.

"Well you don't feel warm, but we should check your temperature anyways. If it is food poisoning I can see if there's something over the counter that might help for it, but you'll just have to ride it out and avoid solids for 24 hours. Ginger tea helps too, for the nausea I can make you some".

"No, Matt I might need something other than food poisoning medication or whatever…"

He gives me a questioning look.

"I might…maybe I might need a…" I couldn't get the words out. But then I realized it's not real yet. I don't know if I am, maybe I'm not.

"Amy, what?" Matt voice cuts through my thoughts, his forehead crinkling as he looks at me.

I shift my eyes to look at him "a pregnancy test".


	8. Chapter 8

**AMY**

I realized I've never seen Matt looked so lost and unsure before. The whole time I've known him he's always had been the definition of calm and solid. Today he looks like he'd just seen a ghost and not sure whether to run or lock himself in the bathroom.

But just like that, he seemed to have gather his thoughts and pulled himself together. Alright we'll start with a pregnancy test, and if it turns out positive I can um, we can…well then you should probably try and get an appointment with your family doctor as soon as possible. Or if you want I can call up the hospital and have someone see us right now.

"Wait, I think I have one lying around here somewhere"

"You have a pregnancy test lying around?" He says it like I just told him I'd been hiding Cheetos behind the toilet.

"It was from a few years ago, when I covered the community outreach event, in support of planned parenthood. I think the company donated a whole bunch of cases so it was in the media package we got along with some other things they promote or provide at the centre"

"Don't they usually stock up on things preventing pregnancy?"

I just give him a look. "Planned parenthood is meant to be a safe place both men and women who are sexually active Matt, and these were just donated by a company. If you think about it, some young couples are just as embarrassed as buying a test as they are things like condoms, so it's not the worst idea. Anyways that's not the point…" I got up and looked in the cupboard under the sink and found the pink box I was looking for.

"Okay" I said looking up at Matt. He held out his hand, to help me up.

"I guess I'll wait outside" He says once I got on my feet.

"Yeah, alright" He turned to close the door.

A few minutes later I place the stick on the counter and washed my hands. I opened the door to let Matt know he can come in.

He leans against the doorway once again and I close the lid on the toilet so I can sit on top of it while we wait.

"How long?"

"It should only take a few minutes"

He nods his head in response, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

I realized that my hands were getting sweaty and I was starting to feel a bit warm. I shook my head and tried to shake myself out of it, wiped my hands on my pajama pants and got up to check the test.

I look at Matt before looking down on little screen of the stick.

My heart began to beat faster as I noticed what it had revealed.

"Positive"

"What?" Matt asked unmoving, but the expression on his face has changed.

I sighed "It's positive Matt"

"Are you sure?"

I pick it up and hold it in front of him so he can see.

"Oh wow" he moves from the doorway and stands in front of the bathroom sink. Placing both hands on the counter, bending over it.

"So what do you want to do about this?" He says looking down at towards his feet, rather than at me.

Wait is he suggesting…

"What do you mean 'what do I want to do about it?' Are you suggesting not going through with it?"

He stands up and turns towards me "Amy, that's not what…"

"I didn't do that when I a 15 year old girl in high school! The fact that you think I'd even think about that now as a working mother at 24 is completely outrageous" I say raising my voice, angry at how that could even cross his mind.

"Amy calm down, don't get so worked up"

"I'm sorry how do you expect me to act, after the reaction you just had?" I say

"Give me a break Amy, unlike you this is the first time I'm dealing with news like this. So forgive me not having what you consider is the appropriate reaction" He says almost raising his voice.

I breathe through my nose. I cannot believe he just said that. I will not loose it right now.

"Get out" I say calmly.

Matts shoulder sinks, and I see him relaxing as he starts walking towards me.

"Amy I…"

"Matt" I say closing my eyes and pinching my nose "Just please, I need to be by myself right now. And to tell you the truth I still don't feel very good so I'm going to lie down for a bit"

He hesitates and looks at me for a few seconds before nodding slowly.

"Okay. Okay Amy. I'll be right downstairs when you're ready to talk" He turns and stops when he gets past the doorway, then turns back towards me "You want me to bring you up anything?"

I sigh and walk towards him to give him a hug. Maybe I had over reacted a little. He really does look like he felt bad. And he has a point. If I was honest this was a complete shock to me as well and he's never been in this situation before.

"I'm okay, but thanks for asking"

I feel him kiss the top of my forehead. "Alright, I'll be right downstairs. I'll take my phone so you can send me am text if you need anything"

"Thanks babe" I sigh and pull away from him "We'll figure this out". Although I wasn't too sure.

I'm sitting at the doctors office, nervously flipping through a home and country magazine. I flip through the pages not paying any attention to the words or pictures on the page. Finally the receptionist comes out through the hallway that led to the offices on the back.

"Ms. Jeurgens?" She calls out.

I stand up and follow her into a white room in the back. "Please take a seat" she says "the doctor will be with you shortly" then walks back out closing the door behind me.

I sit on the black chair facing the examination table, and wipe my hands on my jeans while I wait for the doctor.

Suddenly the door opens and an older looking woman, who looks about 50 walks in.

"Amy Jeurgens" she says looking at the clipboard then at me "How can I help you today?"

"Umm I think I may be pregnant"

Alright hop on the table please. She examines me for a bit, then have me sit up and hands me a cup to pee in. Asks me several questions which I answer and half an hour later, I'm back in the room waiting for her to come back from another patient to confirm the result of my pregnancy.

"So…I'm not sure if this is the result you're looking for but the test came back negative".

Instinctively I place a hand on my stomach and it took me a few seconds to realize that she said the word negative.

"What?" I say a bit shocked.

"The results from the test indicates that you're not pregnant"

"But I took a test. I mean like at home, the the test pregnancy thing said it was positive" I said stuttering a bit.

She nods understandingly "Most home test now, with the advancement in technology are usually pretty accurate. But they are not perfect. Also a lot of things can lead to false negatives. Sometimes the kit could just be defective, or maybe even expired"

"Expired?"

"Sometimes stores don't check what they store on their shelves, and yes they do expire. Just like everything. Things loose their effectiveness after a while or if they haven't been stored properly" She says waving her hand as she lists the different things that a home pregnancy test might fool you and give you an unnecessary heart attack.

I didn't bother telling her the kit I used was a freebie that's been stored under my sink for more than a year.

"Oh"

"I'll still send the blood test in. That should tell us for sure. You should probably get your result in about 24 hours".

"Oh. Okay. Um well th..thank you" I say standing up towards the door that she opened.

"Our office will call you as soon as we find out the results, but hey doesn't mean you and your partner can't keep trying, right" She says giving a soft encouraging smile.

It was then I realized that she took my shock as disappointment. That was so not the case. I was relieved, but I still couldn't believe it. Well I'll know for sure tomorrow, but I definitely feel like I just dodged a bullet. Suddenly I felt a little guilty for being too relieved. But I reminded myself that Matt and I are definitely not ready to take care of another child right now. Him being in the first year of his practice and I still looking for a more permanent stable journalism job. We're both just getting started in not only our careers but this relationship as well. We've only known each other for about 2 years and the majority of that was him preparing to graduate from med school and establishing himself as a first year doctor.

He was at work so I decided it's probably better to send him a text message rather than call him, since his phone was probably in his locker. That way he gets the news as soon as he has access to his phone. I climbed into the drivers seat of my car and, rolled the windows down and began to type out a message.

 _Hey Just left the doctors office. Turns out we got a false negative. Still have to wait for blood test to come back but urine test came back negative. I'm not pregnant._

I clicked send and was about to put it back in my purse when my phone began to ring and surprised to see Matt's face on the display.

"Hey" I say

"Hey. You okay?" He asked

"Yeah" I say blowing air on my bangs "I mean it wasn't the result I was expecting, you know since the pregnancy test showed a positive, but I mean I can't say it's not the result I wanted?" I say more as a question than a sentence.

I hear him sigh on the other end. I know he's just as relieved as I am.

"Alright I should go. Just wanted to check in. I'll…I'll see you at home"

"Yeah…see you at home"

I hang up the phone realizing that not only a) that was one of the most awkward phone calls I've ever had with Matt and that b) not for the first time as of late, neither of us ended the call with an 'I love you'


End file.
